The Divine Weapon

Plot

During the reign of King Sejong the Great, Joseon Korea faces increasing hostility from Ming China. Ming China, without restraint, mounts unrelenting demands against the Korean crown, further entrenching distrust and aversion to subservience. Ming China has especially been provoked by a leaked news that Korea had under way an arms development program that would undermine theirs. Mounting pressure by threat of invasion and sending down Emperor's commands requesting young Korean girls to be sent to China, to reduce Korea's manpower and debilitate its military capacity, the grip around the throat becomes ever tighter. It seems Joseon's fate is dependent on completing an unfinished project - that of making Singijeon or the Divine Weapon a reality.

In the final battle, severely outnumbered Korean forces (less than 100 men) successfully defeat the thousands of Ming Chinese in armed combat with spears, bombs, and several finished Singijeon via several hwachas. Thousands of Ming Chinese footsoldiers are killed as the arrows in the Singijeon are launched. More are killed with the gunpowder packed inside the arrows(Standard Singeijeons). Those in the Ming Chinese army who remained are finished off with the large model Singijeons (대신기전,Grand Singijeon), except one of the nobles who prefers peace over warfare.

Cast

Release

The Divine Weapon was released in South Korea on 4 September 2008, topping the box office on its opening weekend with 630,257 admissions. It led the box office for a further two weeks, and as of 9 November had accumulated a total of 3,749,611 admissions. As of 16 November, the film had grossed a total of US$19,991,573. making it the seventh most popular domestic film that year.

Reception

The film has been criticized by Chinese audiences for historical inaccuracies. For example, it is pointed out that Ming China and Choson Korea never fought and were in fact allies in resisting Japanese invasion in later times, that the tribute of virgins occurred when China was controlled under the Mongolian Empire. It also asserted that the weapons depicted in the film were predated by similar weapons developed in China. The similar weapons are also recorded in Central Asia and Europe.

Awards and nominations